Babywearing on Summer Outings!

Here we are in the middle of summer. The season we all look forward to each year. No school for the kids, plenty of outdoor time and fun activities just waiting for us. And if you are like me you have begun to hear your children say “I’m bored”. “Do we have to?” “We just went there”. And so it is time to get out there and try something new, hit an old favorite place that you haven’t seen in a while, or just drag them along somewhere that is too loud to hear them complain! I have a 7 year old, 4 year old, and 21 month old triplets and nothing is worse than being trapped in the house with all five of them. So what’s a mom to do? Get out there and go!
 

Zoos and farms are a great place to go in the summer. Go early when the animals are up and active and it’s not too hot out. Babywearing is a must for a zoo because it is usually impossible to see anything from a stroller. That doesn’t mean you cannot bring a stroller. You just use the stroller to schlep all your bags and keep your kids nice and high on your back so they can see the animals. 
 

When it gets too hot to be outside museums are great places to go to stay cool, keep busy, and even learn something. If you live near a city and will be taking public transportation the journey is just as exciting as the destination.
But my baby needs to nap you say! Babies will nap in the carrier happily.
But I have so many kids you say! You’re preaching to the choir. Choose your destinations thoughtfully if you have many children. Try to find places where they cannot escape too easily. Go with a friend. Somehow five kids with two adults are much easier than three kids with one adult. Buy wristbands with your cell phone number on them and tag your kids. I have a wanderer and we now tag him all the time. (Safety first, right?) And for goodness sake all these poor middle school and high school kids are looking to make money this summer. Even the right 10 year old can be wonderful with a toddler. Hire one for a few hours so you have an extra hand. 

What if it all goes horribly wrong you ask? We’ve all been that mom. I have certainly strapped a screaming child to my back in a museum before only to have that child fall right to sleep 3 steps outside of the museum. We all understand that sometimes you just have to call it a day. At least you will have tried something new and had an eventful day. Oh, and did I mention that I always keep lollipops hidden in my bag? It’s hard to scream while eating a lollipop.

My last tip is to plan ahead. Pack your bags the night before. Plan your outings a few days ahead of time so you can coordinate with a friend or mother’s helper.  Make a list with your children of all the things you want to do this summer and start crossing things off. Life is short and it will be back to school and cold weather in a blink of an eye. Now go tell your kids it’s time for mandatory fun! They’ll be thrilled. 


Posted by Carolyn

International Babywearing Conference 2012

Last conference, I told you all about the fabulous things I learned, but this conference, as our group planned it, many of us didn't have as much time to attend classes as we might have liked.  However, Heidi from BWI of S. Idaho wrote a nice post about the conference for the BWI blog, so I thought I'd share that here.

http://babywearinginternational.blogspot.com/2012/07/what-i-took-away-from-2012.html

I hope to be back to regular blogging in the next week or so. :)

Ann Marie